Organizational Growth: Taking Your Nonprofit to the Next Level
Having had the opportunity to work with nonprofits that hit huge growth periods and those that wanted to and talked about it but could never achieve that takeoff, I offer the following observations.
Mission
I'm not going to spend much time on this point. We all have relevant missions out there, or we wouldn't exist. But the reality is — because of time in history, really easy to explain case for engagement or powerful imagery — some nonprofits are positioned a little better than others. But I wouldn't rule out any nonprofit with the desire and some key ingredients to grow.
So, I'm a fundraiser having a mid-life crisis. Â And that's perfectly fine with me.Â
I am taking time to look around, lift my head and find REAL people who really want to change the world. Â And people smart enough to do it. Â Join me in this fun journey. I have no idea where we will end up - and that is the beauty of it. I'm nonprofit passionate, a hopeful world changer, and always ready to share what I know, learn what I don't, admit when I can't, and ask the hard questions.
While you're looking around for other areas of inspiration, check out The Moth Project at themoth.org (the podcasts are AMAZING), TED talks (doesn't matter which ones - find topics that interest you) and Volunteer Voices (again - love the podcast) written by volunteers from the Peace Corps. Don't see the immediate connection to being a better fundraiser? Â Just listen, you'll hear the message ...
